1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of automated computer-controlled robotic systems. More specifically, the present invention is directed to computer-controlled robotic pick and place systems which are used for automating pharmacy operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
The tasks which are required to be performed by a pharmacist and/or assistant in a modern-day pharmacy have not been substantially changed for more than 50 years in regard to the transfer of solid pharmaceuticals from bulk containers into individual pill vials for a patient prescription. Today, in much the same way as was required 50 years ago, a pharmacist or technical assistant makes the appropriate transfer from a bulk container into an individual pill vial. While there have been a variety of advances relating to automatically counting an appropriate number of pills for transfer, this task continues to be a labor-intensive operation. Even today, in a modern pharmacy, a person is often required to manually count an appropriate number of individual solid pharmaceutical products for transfer from a bulk container to a patient prescription vial. There remains a significant potential for enhanced efficiency through automation of this process.
Another shortcoming and deficiency of existing pharmacy protocol is that primarily prescriptions for solid pharmaceutical products are transferred into a common pill vial for consumption by a patient. Particularly with an aging population, ever-increasing numbers of individuals are required to take numerous prescriptions throughout the day. It has long been recognized that alternate packaging solutions can be helpful in improving patient compliance with prescription requirements. Specifically, there are a wide variety of packaging solutions that are available in specific seven-day allotments or even multiple dosing times during a given day. In these existing conventional packaging solutions, an individual is provided with a separate package portion which incorporates all of a patient's prescriptions for a given dosing time or day.
Individuals can purchase these alternate packaging solutions but are required to manually transfer each different prescription from an individual pill vial into the appropriate separate package portion for a given dosing time or day. Existing pharmacy protocol would be significantly improved if it were possible for a patient to select a desired packaging solution without having to manually transfer solid pharmaceuticals from a pill vial that is only a temporary storage location. Currently there is no known solid pharmaceutical packaging solution which provides consumers with a convenient choice for the packaging of their pharmaceuticals.
While health care facilities have provided packaging solutions which eliminate the temporary transfer into individual pill vials, the machinery required for providing these known packaging solutions requires a substantial physical footprint and there is a significant financial investment in the machinery. As a result, these existing packaging systems have not been practical solutions for a neighborhood pharmacy.
Yet another shortcoming and deficiency of existing pharmacy protocol is that the pharmacist is often required to identify a number of different solid pharmaceutical products which have been co-mingled in a single container. Pharmacists regularly take the time to manually identify the pills for customer who is uncertain about the types of medications that have been commingled in a single container but this can be a time-consuming process and there is currently no convenient mechanism for automatically identifying and packaging a plurality of different prescriptions.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for improved automated packaging systems which can reduce the burden placed upon pharmacists and/or technical assistants in effecting the transfer of solid pharmaceutical products from bulk containers into individual patient specific product packaging. Additionally, there remains a need in the art for improved pharmacy protocol which can eliminate the unnecessary step of providing an intermediate patient specific product package from which solid pharmaceutical products are transferred into an alternate packaging solution.
There also remains a need for systems and methods which are capable of automatically identifying and packaging a random selection of different solid pharmaceutical products. The preferred embodiments of the present invention address these as well as other shortcomings and deficiencies of the prior art.